Top athletes who have pulled out of the Olympics

Cape Town - The 2016 Rio Olympic Games has not been short on controversy, from the IAAF banning the Russian athletic track and field team to the city of Rio de Janeiro ‘declaring a state of public calamity’ on Friday (June 17) over the city’s major budget crisis ahead of the Games.

The Zika fever, a mosquito-borne virus that has broken out in some Latin American countries, is the latest concern for athletes travelling to compete in the three-week global tournament, as the virus is linked to neurological disorders in some infected children and adults.

Here are some of the big names opting out and their reasons:

Golf:

American Jordan Spieth (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

American Dustin Johnson (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Australian Jason Day (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Australian Adam Scott (scheduling issues - Read more)

Australian Marc Leishman (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Colombian Camilo Villegas (scheduling issues - Read more)

Fijian Vijay Singh (concerns over the Zika virus - Read more)

Filipino Angelo Que (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Irish Shane Lowry (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Italian Francesco Molinari (due to family reasons - Read more)

Northern Irish Rory McIroy (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Northern Irish Graeme McDowell (due to family reasons - Read more)

New Zealand Tim Wilkinson (scheduling issues)

South African Lee-Anne Pace (concerns over the Zika virus - Read more)

South African Charl Schwartzel (concerns over Zika virus and personal reasons - Read more)

South African Louis Oosthuizen (scheduling issues and personal reasons - Read more)

South African Branden Grace (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Japanese Hideki Matsuyama (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge (scheduling issues - Read more)

Tennis:

Australian Nick Kyrgios (dispute with Australian Olympic Committee - Read more)

Australian Bernard Tomic (personal reasons - Read more)

American John Isner (scheduling issues - Read more)

Canadian Milos Raonic (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Czech Tomáš Berdych (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Romanian Simona Halep (concerns over Zika virus - Read more)

Spanish Feliciano Lopez (scheduling issues)

Athletics:

Kenyan Dennis Kimetto (scheduling issues)

Kenyan Wilson Kipsang (scheduling issues)

Basketball:

American LeBron James (resting - Read more)

Cycling:

American Tejay van Garderen (concerns over the Zika virus - Read more)

The 2016 Rio Olympics is scheduled to begin from August 5 - 21.